We love seeking out street food traders you might not have heard of, and this time it’s Filishack, run by two brothers from Peckham. Here’s what to expect.
Where are they?
Filishack, Peckham Square, SE15 5RS (outside the library, Peckham High Street side). Tuesday – Saturday 12pm-5.30pm.
Who are they?
Two brothers called Justice (27) and Jonathan (19), who grew up in Peckham. We asked them how they got started and Jonathan told us, “I worked for a street food stand, I had no experience and no expectation of being paid for it. At the time I just wanted to learn the trade and help out a young budding entrepreneur… after two years grafting and learning the trade with him, it inspired me to start my own food business. I called my brother and asked if he wanted to start it together. He said yes and after tons of trial and error and many arguments, we realised that we should try out simple food inspired by our heritage, the Philippines.”
What’s on the menu?
At the moment the brothers are keeping things simple – the best way to build up a food business. The main things they sell right now are chicken inasal (Filipino BBQ chicken) and braised beef adobo, which you can have in a burrito, in a rice box or with salad. They’re also very flexible, and on our visit were adeptly dealing with a complex order involving multiple changes and requests – there aren’t many street food traders left who are so accommodating, and so nice about it in the process.
We went for the grilled chicken rice box which was a really generous portion, and the grilled chicken was the star of the show. Marinated in garlic, onion, ginger, lemongrass, soy, Filipino vinegar and a little oil, it’s then grilled until juicy and charred in places. It’s topped with a green, slightly creamy, herb sauce and Sriracha. Totally shovel-able.
What’s in store for the future?
We asked the boys what they’re planning for the future and they told us, “one of our goals is to continue to improve our system, whereby we can teach and provide training and gratifying jobs to people most especially for the locals around Peckham. We grew up here in the heart of Peckham, and we would love to contribute to other young people's lives in a positive way. We are small scale now, but we are looking to go bricks and mortar eventually.”
“We were born here in a very notorious estate in Peckham. Our estate was no joke, it was very rough, sometimes we couldn’t even play run-outs or a game of football, it was that rough. Now, it's changed we feel like we can do cartwheels on the bottom of our block without anyone pestering us. It feels safe, it's home. We love the small enterprises that have started around Peckham and how it brings our community together. Peckham is not the new Shoreditch. Peckham is Peckham, and it's people that make it great.”
